As gadgets gets smaller, concert taping gets easier

Jamie Lykos didn't plan to "stealth it" but he's glad he did. He had shown up at The Roots concert last summer with

$4,000 worth of recording equipment in his backpack only to learn that the rap group doesn't allow fans to tape their concerts.

No problem.

Lykos, 27, put the backpack bag in the car and took out his stealth rig.

He clipped eraser-size microphones discreetly on his shoulders, hid his Sony digital audio tape recorder in his pocket and ran a cord between them.

A few hours later, he was the proud owner of "The Roots: Live at the Ritz Theater."

"Oh my God, it was terrific," Lykos said. "They started out on fire."

Though it wasn't his best tape, the recording allows him to relive the concert while driving his car or hanging out in his Durham, N.C., apartment.

Lykos and other concert recording enthusiasts are reaping the benefits of new technology that's making it easier than ever to tape concerts. Known among themselves as "tapers," they now have a wealth of Web sites and online forums to find information and advice on how to get a perfect tape.

The equipment is more advanced, affordable and smaller -- with some mini-microphones almost invisible -- giving tapers more options to record bands that do not allow taping . And the Internet has changed the way music is swapped. Although fans still copy tapes or CDs, swapping is also being done via direct downloads.

As a result, the hobby is flourishing. Although the exact numbers of tapers, especially "stealth" tapers, are hard to pin down, Web sites report an increase in new members.

"To me, it seems like a logarithmic progression," said Jim Oade, co-owner of Oade Brothers Audio, a store and Web site based in Georgia that sells taping equipment.

The store's Web site (www.oade.com) has a tapers' forum which receives a million hits a month. It has been growing 25 percent annually since it began in 1999.

Today's tapers trace their roots to the founding fathers of taping, people like Oade, who trailed bands like the Grateful Dead, lugging cassette recorders and written lists of their tape collections.

The Dead, along with bands like Little Feat and the Allman Brothers, were among the first groups to allow fans to tape their concerts. The Dead even created a "tapers section." Their only request: Share the music freely. And most enthusiasts make it a point not to profit from their hobby, trading rather than selling shows.

Now tapers have also evolved with the times.

Despite dropping prices and rising quality, taping is still an expensive endeavor. Digital audio tape (DAT) recorders, have been the industry standard for years, and start at more than $600. A pair of foam balls that combat wind interference can cost $50. Microphones and even cables can add up to thousands of dollars -- not to mention the money spent on concert tickets.

Lykos said he could easily drop $1,500 on more dream equipment. "At the same time," he said, "will I tape something $1,500 better?"

But minidisc recorders, which also record digitally, can be had for about $150, making it easier for novices to get started. More ambitious tapers bring laptops to shows, recording straight onto their hard drives.

For those who must do their taping secretly, it's the ever-shrinking equipment -- microphones that can be worn within eyeglasses straps, around the neck or on earrings -- that has the most appeal.

Musicians' attitudes on taping varies from band to band, with "jam bands" such as Phish usually giving the green light.

Many bands just starting out welcome tapers. They use the tapes to archive their tours and their progress. They're also a free way to create buzz and a fan base.

Restrictions often hinge on Internet trading. Most bands that allow trading forbid fans from making a profit from the recordings. And if the recording isn't sold, many fans don't feel like they are doing any harm.

Lykos bought The Roots' concert ticket and owns a live album from the band. He's not interested in turning a profit from his open or stealth recordings. However, he'll trade for free if he has the time.

One Web site, Bands That Allow Taping (btat.wagnerone.com), lists bands' policies. Kurt Kemp started the list in 1995 with nine bands; now the site lists the formal and informal taping policies of 988 bands.

Kemp said that etiquette is important if fans want a band to change their policy in favor of taping. "It's not your right to tape, it's a privilege," he said. "It depends on the good will of the band and their sound man."

Jamie Lykos packs recording equipment at his Durham, N.C. apartment.

Photography by John I. White / Raleigh News and Observer

Steve Mang hooks his recorder into the sound board at The Pourhouse in downtown Raleigh, N.C., in preparation for a concert by The Recipe. Mang has been trading live recordings for over ten years but has only started taping shows himself for a couple of years.

Jamie Lykos demonstrates a technique

for holding microphones to obtain the optimum sound quality while taping the songs at concerts.

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